I Will Address My Remarks If I...

I will address my remarks, if I may have the right inspiration, to the fathers and mothers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, likewise to those who are engaged in the organizations of the Church looking after the youth of Israel. ¶

Some few months ago I read in the paper that the majority of crimes committed in the United States were committed by those who were of teen ages. ¶

That was a shock to me and I think to thousands of others, many thousands throughout this land, for it seemed to be so unusual and a trend that boded only evil for this country. We have been troubled even in our own city, and this trouble has existed in all parts of the land, with vandalism, the wanton destruction of property, crimes by children and teen-agers, which show a tendency that will lead only to serious trouble within the borders of our country in years to come. ¶

So I appeal to you, my dear brethren and sisters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, to take advantage of every opportunity the Church affords to have your children trained in the various organizations provided for them by the revelations of the Lord: the Primary, the Sunday School, the Mutual Improvement organizations, and the quorums of the Lesser Priesthood under the direction of our bishoprics. ¶

I hope that you are teaching your children in your homes to pray. I hope that you are having family prayers, morning and evening, that your children are taught by example and by precept to observe the commandments that are so precious and so sacred and mean so much to our salvation in the kingdom of God. ¶

The Lord said in a revelation given to the Church in 1831: ¶

And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. ¶

For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized. (D & C 68:25-26.) And I think I could add with equal truth in any branch of the Church in any mission or any other place outside of the stakes of Zion. The Lord requires this at our hands. I am reminded of a statement that was made in a discourse by President Brigham Young one time which I am not able to quote correctly, but the substance of it is this: ¶

You say this is my wife. You say these are my children. That all depends upon your keeping the commandments of God. ¶

That is the substance of it. In other words, the Lord can take away from you this wife. He can take away from you these children. He has not relinquished his claim upon any of the children that have been entrusted to our care. ¶

So I make this appeal because the tendency in this country today, as you all know who read the papers, is towards nuclear energy, traveling to the moon, getting off the earth, and going somewhere else. But people have forgotten God. We cannot afford to do that. ¶

Let us as members of the Church, no matter what else we may think about space travel, keep our feet on the ground, spiritually and in the home. ¶

One thing, too, that I would like to call attention to — young people, when they marry, are not satisfied to begin with a little and humbly, but they want to receive just about as much as their parents have at the time they, the children, get married. They must have an automobile; they have to have a television set, a radio, all kinds of conveniences, many of which, of course, are very helpful. But they want to start out with every convenience under the sun to make them comfortable. I think this is a mistake. I think they should begin humbly, putting their faith in the Lord, building here a little and there a little as they can, accumulating piecemeal, until they can reach a position of prosperity such as they wish to have. ¶

Now this condition of wanting everything leads to this great trouble: Both the mother and the father find employment. That means that children are left either to run the streets or somebody has to be called in to take care of them in the absence of the parents, and generally, it is my opinion that these children are left to wander the streets, to get into mischief, and they do not have the proper attention that ought to be given to them by the mother in the home. ¶

Now, let us try humbly to keep our families intact, to keep them under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, trained in the principles of the gospel that they may grow up in righteousness and truth. I think the Lord requires that at our hands. He has said, as I have read to you here, that he will hold the parents responsible for the acts of the children and they are given unto us that we might train them in the ways of life, eternal life, that they might come back again into the presence of God, their Father. ¶

Now, some may think I am a little extreme but I think that the training of the children, the watching care over the children in the home by the mother, is worth far more than to have her seek employment, even if it is a matter of pinching a little in order to keep going in the home. ¶

Again, we have throughout the Church, wherever it is possible for us to have this opportunity, seminaries and institutes which our children who are old enough to go to the public schools or even to the colleges may attend. ¶

Brethren and sisters, send your children to these seminaries. Those who are going to college will be old enough, if they have the proper training in their youth, to attend the institutes of the Church. They are old enough to take care of themselves. But help your children in every way you can to grow up with a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Teach them to pray. Teach them to observe the Word of Wisdom, to walk faithfully and humbly before the Lord so that when they grow up to manhood and womanhood they can thank you for what you have done for them and look back over their lives with grateful hearts and with love for their parents for the manner in which those parents cared for them and trained them in the gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

And so I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶